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Oregon Men Basketball

Former Duck stars’ numbers head for rafters

Terrell Brandon and Greg Ballard will join six other Oregon standouts whose numbers have been retired

By Ron Bellamy

The Register-Guard

Appeared in print: Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, page C1

As part of the festivities honoring the final season in McArthur Court, the Oregon men’s basketball program will retire the numbers of former stars Terrell Brandon and Greg Ballard, bringing to eight the players who have been given that honor.

When the Ducks move to the new Matthew Knight Arena in December, coach Ernie Kent said he expects that those numbers will stay retired.

“We’re moving to the new arena where you can hang those jerseys up in those rafters,” Kent said. “Obviously, when they’re hanging up there, they will not be worn.”

Over the years, the Ducks have not been strict about that. Currently, sophomore Drew Wiley wears the No. 22 of Slim Wintermute, the center for “The Tall Firs” that won the 1939 NCAA Championship — with the blessing of Wintermute’s family, Kent said.

Recent UO star Freddie Jones wore the No. 20 that had been retired in honor of Bobby Anet.

When Aaron Brooks came to Oregon in 2003, he initially chose No. 30, his number in high school, before learning after Oregon’s first exhibition game that it had been retired in honor of the great Kamikaze Kid, Ronnie Lee. At the time, Kent said Lee didn’t object to Brooks wearing that number, but Brooks said he didn’t deserve it.

“That’s his,” Brooks said then. “I wouldn’t want anybody to wear my jersey” if it were retired. Brooks chose 00 for the rest of that season, and 0 for his final three at Oregon.

Sunday night, before the men’s Civil War in Mac Court, the Ducks will pay tribute to Brandon as an honorary captain and retire the No. 10 he wore in his two seasons. No Duck is currently wearing No. 10, but Ballard’s No. 42 — to be retired Jan. 30 — is currently being used by sophomore Josh Crittle.

Asked whether Crittle will keep No. 42 for the rest of his carer, Kent said “there’s going to be some discussion about that. I’m anxious for Greg to come here, and for Josh to meet Greg.”

Throughout the men’s Pac-10 season, there will be honorary captains for each home game, and commemorative tickets given to the first 3,500 fans.

In addition to former Oregon stars, the honorary captains will include former opponents such as UCLA great Bill Walton and former coaches Lute Olson and George Raveling. The lineup of honorary captains:

Oregon State, 7:30 p.m. Sunday: Brandon, the 1991 Pac-10 player of the year, who holds the UO record for single-season scoring average (26.6 points per game in 1990-91).

Arizona State, Jan. 14: Charlie Warren, who scored more than 1,000 points in his UO career and averaged 22.2 as a senior in 1962, when he won all-America honors, and former ASU head coach Bill Frieder.

Arizona, Jan. 16: John Dick, a starter for Oregon’s 1939 national championship team, and former Arizona head coach Lute Olson.

UCLA, Jan. 28: Oregon’s Larry Holliday and UCLA’s Bill Walton. Holliday, a Duck from 1969-71, grabbed 11 rebounds in Oregon’s upset of then No. 1 UCLA on February 21, 1970, one of the most memorable games in the history of McArthur Court. Walton, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, earned three consecutive Naismith College Player of the Year awards and was also part of UCLA’s NCAA record 88-game winning streak that ended with a loss to Notre Dame in the 1973-74 season.

USC, Jan. 30: Greg Ballard, a member of the Kamikaze Kids who ranks fourth all-time in school history in scoring (1,829) and is the only UO player to have amassed more than 1,000 rebounds.

Stanford, Feb. 18: Ron Lee, who defined the Kamikaze Kids and who is Oregon’s all-time leading scorer with 2,085 points.

California, Feb. 20: Teammates Chuck Rask (1958-60) and Glenn Moore (1960-63) and former Cal star Darrall Imhoff. Rask was an all-American and all-conference selection in 1960, and Moore scored 1,033 points in 77 career games for the Ducks. Imhoff was a two-time all-American and led California to the 1959 NCAA title.

Washington, March 4: Dick Harter, who coached the Kamikaze Kids from 1971-78 and led the Ducks to 112 wins in his seven-year tenure.

Washington State, March 6: Kenya Wilkins, recently named to the UO Athletics Hall of Fame, and former Washington State and USC head coach George Raveling.